Parenting, Gender, and Perception of Changes in Children’s Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In a previous Argentine study, we found that, in the critical context of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were changes in maternal practices that influenced the relationship with their children. We also found that the impact of mandatory isolation was moderated positively by protective factors such as positive parenting and maternal school support or negatively by risk factors such as maternal stress. Although this study only analyzed maternal behavior, we were interested in studying the behavior of both parents, comparing the parenting (positive parenting, parental stress, and school support) of the father and mother and the perceived behavioral changes in their children. A quantitative ex post facto study was carried out. The sample consisted of 120 Argentinean parents (70 mothers and 50 fathers) aged between 27 and 56 (M = 38.84; SD = 5.03). Questionnaires were administered on sociodemographic and behavioral data of the children, as well as a brief scale to assess parenting. Mann–Whitney U and MANOVA were used to analyze the influence of gender on perceived changes in children’s behavior and perceived parenting, respectively. Mothers perceived more significant changes than fathers in their children’s behavior. In addition, women reported more parental stress, greater child school support, and greater perceived positive parenting compared to men. These findings support the hypothesis that parenting developed differently in fathers and mothers. These results imply the need for psycho-educational intervention programs aimed at promoting greater involvement of fathers in parenting and better management of parental stress in mothers’ and family psychological well-being.